Before Benfica-Liverpool: Why is Diogo Jota so strong with his head?

What do Christian Benteke, Edinson Cavani and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have in common? They all play in the Premier League, they are true strikers from the surface, 1.87 meters or more in length and therefore naturally good at scoring with a header. But for two seasons, the guy performed better than them in this field. He’s a winger by training, only seventy-seven meters tall and doing wonders for Liverpool: Diogo Jota.

But don’t talk to him about size. Diogo Jota could return ten centimeters to the Turkish joint (Kapak-Demiral-Soyuncu), to the Hornets joint (Samir Kabasil) and to most central defenders in the Premier League, today he is part of the European references among the skilled. head players. With Liverpool this season, he scored six of his 20 goals with the helmet. And with Portugal, five of his last six goals have been this way.

JOTA, processed product

The former Wolverhampton player has yet to get the hang of it. “I don’t think I went the extra mile in this area.Confirmed on the official website of his club. I remember as a kid watching the Portuguese league and seeing players score with their heads. I was like, “Ah, I wish I could do that!” I never understood why I gave it so much importance. But now I am able to score these goals and I am very happy with them. “

At 25, Diogo Jota is not yet a finished producer, but his main competence has grown as his game has evolved. Because the Portuguese aren’t particularly adept at airing off the surface. In the Premier League, he has won less than a third of his air duels. But precisely because he doesn’t have the fitness for the job, he’s hard to come by for defenders.

Whether aligned on one side or in the axis, its role is always the same: a gutta acts as a false number 9, forgettable and reaching the surface. His ability to make the right calls, along with the quality of the crosses from Liverpool players, do the rest. The Portuguese is skilled at headers but unlike Lukaku or Dzeko, he is not a consistent striker.

With him, the team Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are not targeting any players. targeting an area. Against Watford, when Joe Gomez addresses his pass, the Lusitania international is caught between two defenders…behind the penalty kick. But when he puts his head down, he has already entered the opponent’s 5.50 m distance. Pure gutta juice. “It’s an amazing raceRio Ferdinand, “the expert” in BT Sports, End of this week. “He is one of the smartest players in the Premier League‘, his counterpart Gianfranco Zola abounded.

For this sense of purpose, Diogo Jota relates the vitality that caught Liverpool’s attention when he played at Wolverhampton. “He’s able to enjoy speed but also maintain a great deal of control over his body, it’s scaryPerfect for putting on his helmet well. Another little-known feature: his physical strength, which allows him to transmit a lot of force during his head shots.

Last November, during Liverpool’s demonstration against Arsenal (4-0), the Portuguese talked a lot about him on social media after a particularly strong pass from his head, which Sadio Mane fired before Mohamed Salah’s goal. On that day, he also scored. Submit this time.